President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has held a one-on-one meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg yesterday evening after the talks the officials made press statements.
"The NATO-Azerbaijan partnership has already had a long history - more than 30 years of good partnership. Azerbaijan participated in peacekeeping operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan. That was a great experience for us. Our military servicemen were among the last of the coalition forces in Afghanistan to leave that country at the end of August 2021. So, this once again demonstrates our strong commitment to our cooperation," Ilham Aliyev said.
He noted that reforms in Azerbaijan's Armed Forces have led to good results, its defense capability is being modernized, they demonstrate a high level of professionalism today.
The Azerbaijani president noted that during many years of discussions with NATO, they always talked about the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, but now these issues have been out of the topics of discussions. Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
"Today, we are in an active phase of peace talks with Armenia. During my last visit to Brussels, at the press conference, I raised that issue and said that Azerbaijan made such a proposal, and we expect Armenia to respond. Once again, I’d like to say that it was our initiative to start peace negotiations," Ilham Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani leader said they have already had seven rounds of exchanges of comments with Armenian counterparts on a draft peace agreement.
"The recent meeting of the foreign ministers and also the meeting of the deputy prime ministers on the issue of border delimitation demonstrate that there is a good chance for settlement. As I said relatively recently, we are now closer to peace than ever before," Ilham Aliyev said.
He recalled that for 28 years, the OSCE Minsk Group did not produce any result.
"But now, as a result of the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, we are very close, I think, and I hope, to having a breakthrough. That will be a very serious change in the South Caucasus. It will mean that long-awaited peace will come to the Caucasus," Ilham Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan and NATO also discussed the issue of energy security.
"Today, Azerbaijan is exporting natural gas to eight countries, six of which are member states of NATO, and two are partners to NATO. I'm sure that in the coming years, the number of our partners will grow. The European Commission calls Azerbaijan a reliable partner and a pan-European gas supplier," Ilham Aliyev said.
The Azerbaijani president also informed the NATO Secretary General about the green transition agenda and the upcoming COP29. Stoltenberg was invited to visit the November conference.
Then, the NATO Secretary General made the statement.
Stoltenberg said this is his first visit to Azerbaijan as the Secretary General of NATO, but this is not his first visit to Baku because he came here several times in the 1990s as the Minister of Energy of Norway.
"I have fond memories of those visits, not least because I saw the vibrant and strong energy sector being developed in this country. It's therefore great to be back also to have the opportunity to discuss energy security because energy matters for our security. I welcome that Azerbaijan is developing closer and closer ties with several NATO allies and that your country is playing a more and more important role in delivering gas, but also, in the future, power electricity to key NATO allies in Europe," Stoltenberg said.
He noted that Azerbaijan is a longtime partner of NATO, their partnership is about political dialogue but also about practical cooperation.
"Peace in this region is extremely important for the people and the countries in the region, but it also matters for the Black Sea region and for the North Atlantic security. Therefore, peace and stability are not only important here but also for security more broadly. Armenia and Azerbaijan have an opportunity to achieve enduring peace after years of conflict," Stoltenberg said.
The NATO Secretary General also touched on the issue of climate and energy sources.
"Climate change matters for security, and therefore, it matters for NATO. Climate change is a crisis multiplier, and we see the effects of climate change all over the world, also here - in Azerbaijan. Therefore, the challenge is that the world needs energy, but at the same time, we need to fight global warming. We need to reconcile the need for energy and environment. Azerbaijan is not only exporting natural gas, but you are also now investing in alternative energies," Stoltenberg said.
ThreNATO chief said the COP29 will be an important milestone.
